Is It Unusual to Trust Your Body?

Do you think it’s unusual to trust your body, or more specifically, how about when it comes to eating? Do you eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full, and generally eat what you’re hungry for?

A couple weeks ago on facebook I was sharing information about the Intuitive Eating Group starting in September and I had some interesting responses and inquires that called the group “unusual” and “unorthodox”. (Not making that up.) And on one hand, while I get how responding to your body might seem unusual- especially when you’re immersed in diet culture, on the other hand, how can it be unusual to trust your body- a vessel that automatically keeps you alive by managing your breathing, your heart rate, your fluid status, that tells you when you need to go to the bathroom and manages digestion and absorption all by itself. You don’t even have to think about it!

External messages (such as dieting and food rules) interfere with your
ability to eat intuitively, but reconnecting with your body isn’t something that’s unusual. It’s amazing what your body can do and hunger and fullness cues are included as part of that. Hunger and fullness are something that you’re born with. Reconnecting is just relearning something that got disconnected. Nothing unusual about that.

Building trust and reconnecting with your body isn’t unusual, however it can certainly bring up a lot anxiety. When you diet, restrict or binge eat you stop listening to your body. Once you’ve stopped listening to your body you lose body trust and the fear is how can I ever trust my body again?

It’s a process, but with intuitive eating you can regain body trust and Freedom! And what happens when you fully invest in the process to regain trust and freedom with your body? When you fully invest in the process of intuitive eating?

You go from thinking about food all the time to being fully present in life. Other clients have called it “magical”, “life changing”, and “like a weight was lifted off of them”.

You leave food on your plate or sometimes have more because you reconnect and respond to your body’s internal hunger and fullness cues!

You go outside when you get home from work to take a break instead of raiding the pantry.

You are able to keep your favorite foods in your house and don’t eat them all at once.

You enjoy food and don’t beat yourself up after you have it.

You start walking more and try out yoga for fun.

You build body trust and then respond with self-care!

You feel confident and in charge!

The results from Intuitive Eating Speak for themselves!

And incase you’re still thinking- yeah that works for other people but not me, let me show you the data. Research from over 75 peer-reviewed journal articles show that intuitive eating is associated with:

Higher satisfaction with life

Reduced risk for heart disease

Improved blood glucose levels

Lower cholesterol

Greater positive Mood/ Optimism

Proactive Coping Skills

Interoceptive Awareness

Pleasure in eating

Lower body mass index

Body trust

Higher body satisfaction

Less internalization of the thin ideal

Higher levels of self esteem

Enjoyable movement/exercise

If you would benefit from more pleasure, less guilt, body connection, and confidence with your eating then let me hold hope for you that it’s possible! Because, there’s nothing unusual about that.